MOSCOW, April 18 - RAPSI. A court fined Greenpeace activists $34 each for holding a protest rally in central Moscow against the exploration of the Arctic Regions.

The unauthorized rally took place at the Moscow hotel where the Russian Arctic Oil and Gas international conference was held. The conference was attended by global oil giants including Gazprom, ExxonMobil, Statoil, Shell and investors.

The police detained around twenty Greenpeace activists.

Greenpeace Russia is unlikely to make up its mind whether to appeal the fines until the court passes its decision for all activists, Greenpeace's Arctic project coordinator Roman Dolgov said.

Prior to the conference, Greenpeace Russia issued a report stating that any significant oil spill and the clean up costs will cause huge damage to the ecosystems of the Arctic and will exceed the probable profits from oil production.